2 Intersections Need Work Before Signals Are Put Up

WINTER SPRINGS — The state Department of Transportation has approved the installation of two traffic signals on State Road 434, but the city first must meet some conditions.

One of the signals will be at the Sheoah Boulevard/S.R. 434 intersection across from Winter Springs Elementary School. The other will be installed at the Moss Road/S.R. 434 intersection.

Design and construction of the signals can take from six months to a year, said Steve Becker, a Seminole County traffic engineer who has been working with Police Chief John Govoruhk on the signal plans. Becker said determining an accurate completion date is impossible because of the number of details involved.

Before the signal plans at the Sheoah Boulevard intersection can begin, the school entrance off S.R. 434 will have to be realigned, L.A. Griffin, DOT district traffic operations engineer, wrote the city on Monday.

Govoruhk said the curb and fence will have to be relocated and the driveway will have to be rerouted for cars and children to enter the school directly via the new traffic signal. The city must have DOT approval on those changes before the light can be installed.

The entrance to the school is now located a few feet west of the crossroads, and a pedestrian signal is east of it.

The Sheoah Boulevard signal will be paid for by the city and Becker said it should cost about $26,000.

If state money becomes available for signal projects, Griffin said, the DOT would consider paying part of the cost for the Sheoah signal.

City and county administrators studying the Moss Road/S.R. 434 signal said it will require a feature to allow the fire department, located on Moss Road, to regulate the light in emergencies. Griffin in his letter said the department still needs to review the need for the special feature.

Govoruhk said builders and developers in the surrounding area will pay for the installation costs, which are undetermined.